Some people are made of money and miles. Most of us however must work very hard to save up enough of both for a special trip, ever so often. When that special trip comes around, it’s hard to think of a more exciting way to spice up the travel portion than upgrading to business class. Without using a mountain of miles (or money) there are some cool opportunities to book cheap tickets and turn them into swanky, flat bed, champagne sipping flights.
Note: This advice applies primarily for international tickets primarily across an ocean. Domestic tickets are easier to upgrade and we will cover that separately…
Pay For Singapore Airlines Premium Economy + Upgrade To Business For 17,750 Miles…
Singapore Airlines prices their Premium Economy very reasonably between the US and Europe, often running around $1000- even between New York and Frankfurt round trip. This is a great opportunity to upgrade at least one way of your journey while earning miles using a relatable stack of miles and a fairly common price for economy, let alone premium in peak season…
Pay For British Airways World Traveler Plus + Upgrade To Business For 20,000 Miles…
British Airways often runs excellent sales on their Premium Economy, especially if you add in the AARP discount, which anyone can take advantage of. Similar to Singapore, you can grab a ticket in the $1000-1200 range round trip, and upgrade for 20,000 miles each way. Of course it’s nicer when you can find a business class deal around this price, but since they’re very rare, this is an excellent work around, where you’ll earn almost enough miles to cover your upgrade.
Trick: You can often book British Airways World Traveler Plus at better rates when booked through American Airlines (search Google Flights). You can use just 12,500 American miles to upgrade from World Traveler Plus to Club World (business class) when booked through American.
Pay For Virgin Atlantic Economy + Upgrade To Business For 35,000 Miles + $65…
Virgin Atlantic is one of the few airlines which allows you to upgrade directly from Economy to their business class called “Upper Class”. Assuming you scored a great deal on economy, you can use a hefty but not insane stack of miles to upgrade. This is great for people who want to earn miles and elite status points while using some saved up miles. Yes, a round trip using just miles would only cost 80,000 miles, but since you don’t earn miles AND you still pay nearly $1000 in taxes round trip, this is actually a cheaper, better deal.
Pay For American Airlines Economy + Upgrade To Business For 25,000 Miles + $350…
American has some incredible fare sales on at the moment to Europe, some less than $500 round trip and unlike many other carriers in the US, they allow you to upgrade discount economy tickets. That makes paying $350 and some miles sound pretty reasonable for a flat bed across the pond. For a simple trip between US and Europe this could get very pricey, but you can take up to three segments in one direction for the same price. So on a US to Australia via Asia or Europe ticket, this could be a very welcome option. American miles are also very easy to earn, which helps.
Ok GREAT, Now How Do I Know If There’s Space To Upgrade?
In most cases, if there’s space available for someone to use miles on your same flights, there’s space for an upgrade. If you can’t immediately tell, you should always try to call your airline and ask if any flights on your dates have instantly upgradeable space. This takes all the guesswork and stress out. Very few people like guesswork or stress…
